Consequences of Our Actions
by SpencerRemyLvr
Summary: Sequel to "Choices We Make". After three years of being gone, Spencer and Remy get called back home to help a friend and are forced to face friends Remy hadn't been sure he'd see again. Only, they're not the same men who left. Will the X-Men be able to handle the changes in their friend? *Four Chapters, complete, I'll post as I edit*
1. Chapter 1

_*This story takes place three years after "Choices We Make"*_

* * *

It had been only twelve hours ago that they'd gotten the call from Logan that brought them back to the states. Logan was the only person from their past life that had the ability to contact them. Spencer had gotten an alert on his phone that told him that the universal voicemail box they set up had a new message. It was the safest way to keep in contact and to set up times to actually talk for real. When he'd checked it, there had been a message from Logan waiting. It was brisk, to the point, and horrifying. _"Hey. I just got back to the mansion and found out these idiots went and checked out rumors of mutants being kidnapped an taken. Sounds like yer bastard's operation. Jube went with them and she's missing now. Rogue says she wasn't there when they woke up. The teams on their way to LA now to find her. If it's him, aint no one got a chance like you two."_ There was a growl and then a click and the message was done.

There was no need for the two men to even think about it. Not only was Jubilee someone that Remy cared about, the fact that Logan had asked them to come was enough to get them moving. He could've asked them to come and help him for pretty much any reason and they would've moved just as quickly. There had been a couple times over the past three years that the duo had been in a tight jam, or they'd needed someone they could trust to back them, and Logan had always come when they asked. He would come to them, flying wherever they needed despite how much he loathed flying, and he'd do what he could to help before going home. He never pressured them to return, though he always offered, and he never forced them to keep him around, though he offered that as well. He was more than just their friend. He was like family. They wouldn't refuse him help when he needed it. And they especially wouldn't abandon Jubilee, a young girl who Remy had often thought of like an annoying yet lovable younger sister.

Spencer packed their things while Remy booked them a flight back to the states. Not even an hour later they were in a private plane on their way back. How Remy set it up and what favors he called in to get this, Spencer didn't bother asking. They were focused entirely on what they'd have to do.

They'd have to hit the ground running. What they knew of the LA group wasn't a whole lot. They knew it was a link in the chain and nothing more. Most of their information had been international so far. But they knew people in the area and they plotted who to call and how to gather the needed information. It was when they were almost there that Spencer broached the one subject he was a little unsure about. "Are you going to be okay with seeing the team again? It's been a long three years since you saw them last."

Remy took a bit before he answered. He didn't bother to lie; it would be pointless anyways. He just needed a minute to formulate his answer. Finally, he said "Aint gonna be easy, I know. Dey all just assumed dat I bailed on em." Logan had been the one to tell Remy that. He'd also told them that not everyone was angry about it. Some knew that Logan was in contact with him and they passed along their well wishes that way. But there was no denying that there would probably be temper for them to deal with when they landed. Remy shrugged one shoulder as casually as he could manage. "It don't matter none, cher. We're doing dis f' Jubilee and Wolvie. Dat's all dat matters. She's all dat matters."

There was nothing Spencer could think of to say that might make this better for his partner. During his time with Remy, he'd begun to learn that sometimes words weren't necessary anyways. He leaned in close and pressed himself up against his partner's side. Immediately Remy lifted an arm and tucked it around him. Burrowing in close, Spencer smiled.

Things had changed so much for the two of them during these past few years. Ever since that day together in the motel room when Spencer had turned his back on his life to follow Remy, things had become so different. They'd gone through so much in their efforts to take Eli down. Neither one had planned on letting it take this long. They'd hoped to be done so much faster than this! But for every bit they took down, the man seemed to put up more, fighting to grow his enterprises, forcing Spencer and Remy to work harder and faster.

The job had changed them both. Not just physically, either, though they both looked a bit different now.

Spencer knew his friends probably wouldn't recognize him. His hair was about as long as Remy's, just starting to reach a shaggy stage, and though he didn't have the facial hair that Remy did, his face did carry new lines to it. There was an age in him that hadn't been present before. Mostly around his eyes. The young genius knew that Remy hated it; hated seeing his partner being so constantly exposed to this darker side of life. Yet Spencer wouldn't want to be anywhere else than at Remy's side. The bond between them had grown even stronger and there was nothing and no one that Spencer would put before Remy.

Remy's hair was shorter than normal, just the tiniest bit shaggy, though his bangs were still long enough that he could use them as well as his sunglasses to shelter his eyes. He'd also grown a goatee and mustache. He still carried the same muscle as before, just as defined and just as lean. But there was a hardness to his features that hadn't been there before. The same one that had found its way onto Spencer's features. This life… it'd changed them. In so many ways.

* * *

The flight passed by rather quickly and yet, at the same time, seemed to drag on. But finally they had landed and the two were able to move. Being confined for hours wasn't something that either did well with anymore.

Once they were off the plane, Remy pulled out his cell phone as they moved down the street. Not far from the airstrip was, thank God, a car rental place. "Y' get our transportation f' us _, mon amour_. I'll start gettin' de information."

Shifting his bag better on his arm, Spencer nodded and mentally ran through what he knew was in his wallet. Did he have…yes, he did. Perfect. He still had a credit card that was under a safe name. No need to alert anyone of their presence in the states if they didn't have to. He also had the ID to go with it, as well as the new ID for Remy. Perfect.

Thirty minutes later, the two men were on the back of their rented motorcycle speeding off down the road.

* * *

It had been a total of eighteen hours since Logan had put out his call by the time Spencer and Remy pulled up outside of an old motel. In the few hours since their arrival, they'd already accomplished quite a bit. Now it was time for them to do the one part that they'd been putting off. Now was time to meet with the team. Information had told them that this was where they were staying. The last three rooms on the row were rented out to the team members that had come. It was a simple matter for the duo to get themselves a room as well on the row right across from the team.

They took the time to set up their room first, dropping their bags inside and securing them. Anything of actual import was pulled out and brought with them. That was one of the earliest things that Remy had taught him. Never leave behind anything you can't afford to lose. So money, credit cards, IDs, important things like that were tucked into Remy's most hidden pockets. They dressed carefully, not just for comfort but to make an appearance as well. Though Remy didn't say it, Spencer knew that the man was going to use his clothes to try and make a statement. Spencer did the same thing. He'd learned from Remy just how important an outfit could be in making an impression on someone, a thing that he'd never thought of before they'd started this.

Without realizing it, the two actually dressed themselves to match a little. Remy wore a pair of black jeans, combat boots, a dark red turtleneck, and his duster. Underneath all of that was his lightweight armor. His hair was slightly windblown and his sunglasses were in place as always. Spencer wore a pair of dark blue jeans, his converse shoes, a black cotton turtleneck with short sleeves, a red scarf with thin black stripes, and a charcoal colored pea coat. He also wore a black fedora with a dark red band, and his usual gloves, this pair black leather that was as soft as butter. In those clothes, they both stowed their array of weapons. They wouldn't go unarmed.

Remy looked them both over and couldn't help how his lips curved. "Aint we cheesy, cher? We're matching our clothes now."

"Mm." Spencer hummed happily. He couldn't stop his own small smile. "You have to admit, we make quite a picture, though."

"Dat we do."

Remy smoothly stepped forward and crooked his arm, offering it to Spencer. A delighted laugh tickled the back of Spencer's throat. He lifted his hand and slipped it into the curve of Remy's elbow, holding lightly. "Such a gentleman you are." Inclining his head towards the door, he asked "Shall we?"

The little bit of humor eased them both somewhat. Enough so that they at least weren't as tense when they exited their hotel room and made their way across the parking lot. A quick check with his empathy and Spencer knew that two of the rooms rented by the X-Men were empty. All of them had gathered in the one on the end. That was where they moved towards now. Spencer kept at Remy's side and tried to make his emotions as steady and supportive as possible. This part of things was going to be Remy's show to run. How it was handled would be up to him.

There was no sign of hesitation as Remy moved them right up to the door and proceeded to give three sharp knocks. Spencer heard the voices inside cut off just moments before the door was pulled open. The guy who answered the door must've been someone new because he didn't seem to recognize Remy at all. "Can I help you?" He asked cautiously.

"We're here t' see Logan." Remy's accent was a little thicker on his words, a sure sign to anyone that knew him that he was nervous.

His request had been made loud enough to be heard inside of the hotel room. He'd done that on purpose. It only took a second before Logan called out "Let em in, Keith."

Well, into the lion's den. Spencer gave Remy's arm a squeeze and held on to him as they slipped around this young kid—Keith, it would seem—and into the room. Spencer's eyes immediately traveled over everyone present. Scott, Jean, Logan, Hank, and this Keith kid, plus evidence around the room that suggested at least two or three others. It was Logan that they both focused on, though. He was the important one right now. The duo moved together across the room and straight to him. Spencer let go of Remy so that the Cajun could reach out and pull Logan into a hug. He murmured something in Logan's ear that had the feral man growling a low reply. Then the two let go and Spencer was swept up in a hug next. He didn't apologize to Logan, though he wanted to. He simply said "We'll bring her home."

"I know." Logan said back. It was all he needed to say.

Spencer felt a hint of distress from Remy and he quickly extracted himself from Logan's embrace to turn towards his partner and reach out for him. Remy was standing there staring at people that had once been very close friends of his. Their faces were worrisome. Jean looked shocked, Hank looked torn between shock and disbelief, and Scott looked just a bit angry. It was the angry one that really worried Spencer the most. He took a step closer to Remy and put a hand in the small of his back. Remy drew comfort from that touch and straightened himself up ever so slightly. " _Bonjour, mes amies._ " He said in a voice that almost passed for calm. "Long time no see, _non_?"

"Remy." Jean whispered his name. Then she was suddenly up and moving and Remy found himself with his arms full. She was hugging him tightly as if afraid to let go for fear he'd vanish on her. "It's you. It really is you! I'm so glad to see you're okay!"

Patting her back, Remy made a soothing sound, his body relaxing a little into her hold. "Dere now, cher, 'course Remy's okay. Aint he always?" He carefully extracted himself from her embrace and gave her a reassuring smile. "Remy's happy to see y' too, Jeannie, all of y', _mais_ let's save de reunion f' once we get Jubilee home, _oui_? She's what's important right now." He said it to Jean but his eyes were on Scott when he said them.

For a long breath, Scott just stared at him, debating and weighing his words. He finally settled on a sharp nod. "But when it's done, Gambit, we're having a _long_ talk."

" _Oui_ , Scotty." Remy said solemnly.

The serious look melted away to one of exasperated amusement and annoyance. "Don't call me Scotty."

" _Oui,_ Scotty."

Scott let out a long-suffering sigh. He gave a shake of his head and abruptly switched back over to business. "What have you got for us and what do you need to know? I'm not sure how much you've been told. I wasn't even made aware you were coming." The last was said sternly, and directed to Logan, who didn't even flinch under the glare.

"We gathered up some intel b'fore we came on over." Remy explained. He moved back towards the table, dropping down into one of the chairs there. He looked down at the map they had spread out. "We'll need t' see anyt'ing y' got on where y' t'ink she might be and on what happened. And we'll need somet'ing of hers, if y' got anyt'ing."

"Already thought of that." Logan said. He strolled over towards them, holding out something he'd just pulled out of a bag. It looked like a necklace. "This was in her stuff. Guess she took it off to work. Usually, she wears it all the time. The more personal, the better, right?"

"Right." Spencer nodded at him and took the necklace in his gloved palm. Without thinking about it, he perched on the arm of Remy's chair, lifting one foot to rest the heel on the seat right between Remy's thighs. It allowed him to rest his arms on his thigh and lean forward to look at the map and the markings they'd put there. The more information he could gather right now, the more sense he might be able to make out of whatever he might see. He felt one of Remy's hands slip up under the back of his coat and shirt to stroke over the skin of his back. It was soothing and Spencer arched just slightly into it. Most of his attention, though, was fixed on the map. There were little lines marked in random places. Some of them matched up with what they'd learned, but two of them he didn't know, and he knew of three more places to mark.

Spencer tipped his head up and looked towards the one he figured would have the most information—Scott. "What do the marks on your map indicate?"

If Scott thought it strange that someone he didn't know was questioning him, it didn't show. "They're recent abductions." Scott stepped forward and pointed to certain groups as he spoke. "These three were from two days ago, this bunch here was yesterday, and these ones are the most recent. We've found ten total so far."

"We've got three more to add." Remy said. He reached out and picked up the pen off the table, adding three more dots.

Spencer stared down at the map and tried to figure out what it was he was seeing. They'd studied so many maps like these over the past few years. Enough so that he was getting better at recognizing the patterns. Eli liked to try and change things up when he seemed to think they were getting too good, but all his plans were formed around the same basic ideas. If Spencer looked long enough and carefully enough, he could usually figure out something. This one was familiar, yet…not. There was just something about it…

"What do y' see, cher?" Remy's low murmur came from right by his ear. Spencer hadn't realized how far down he'd bent.

"I'm not sure. It sort of reminds me of Montreal. Or maybe Budapest."

"Maybe. Was t'inking it looks a little like Cairo."

The minute Remy said 'Cairo', it was like a light went off in Spencer's head. "Cairo! Of course!" Twisting in his seat, he grabbed Remy's face and gave him a hard, fast kiss. "You're brilliant." Quickly he let go of Remy and spun back to the map again, this time rising up off the chair so he could bend over the table more and scan it better. He didn't see the surprise his reaction had garnered or the smug grin on Remy's lips. He was too busy focusing on what he'd just discovered. "It's like Cairo, but it's mixed in with how things were in Montreal. The amount taken, the spacing between, the locations, it all fits. So that means…"

"…dey'll be at de shipping yards." Remy finished for him.

"But how do we know what company? Shipping yards is better than what we had but it's still a vast place to work with." It was Jean who asked that. She didn't seem to doubt their deductions at all, just wanted to know how to work with the information.

Spencer bit his lip before turning his head to look at Remy. "You think you can get me the information? I need to know what companies are down there and where they're storing things."

" _Oui_. Ray can do it."

"Good. You get her on that and I'll see what I can gather."

Remy caught Spencer's wrist before he could straighten up fully. He tipped his head just enough that he could glare over the top of his sunglasses. "Y'll give me five minutes to make de call and den we'll both see what y' can gather. Y' aint doin' it wi'out me, cher. Y' just get dat right on outta y'r mind." He didn't give Spencer time to react to his order. Using his grip on Spencer's wrist, he pulled himself up to his feet and then stole a quick kiss before he slipped across the room and out the door. Spencer watched him leave and had to roll his eyes. "Bossy little shit." He said fondly.

Jean waited until the door was shut before she looked over at Spencer and arched a brow. "I don't think I've ever seen Remy quite so, commanding before."

"Really?" Surprise colored Spencer's tone. At her nod, he shrugged one shoulder, not quite sure what to say. "He's been like that for as long as I've known him."

"How long have you known him?" Scott asked.

He should've figured on that question coming. "Well, I just turned thirty, so that would mean that we've known one another…fourteen years, eleven months, and three weeks. Well, give or take a day or so. It's three weeks and two days if you count from the first time I actually _saw_ him. But known him? That's the most accurate count." Seeing their surprised looks, he shrugged again. He'd grown used to explaining this part of himself over the years and he'd recently grown more comfortable in general, having spent the past three years with a person who didn't seem to find any part of him strange at all. "I have an eidetic memory. I don't forget things like that. Numbers especially are very easy for me to remember."

"He's a little genius." Logan teased, his hand coming down on Spencer's shoulder.

That touch was all it took. A sudden tingling at the base of his skull was Spencer's only warning. He didn't even have time to put a hand out to brace himself before the world around him slipped away.

 _Cold, pain, fear._

 _/God, oh God, Wolvie please. Please get me outta here. Oh man, I swear I'll do anything ya want. I'll wash your bike, do chores for, like,_ months! _Just get me out of here!/ Dark, cold, so cold. A noise, off to the side. Fear to terror. /They're back, they're back, oh God. Wolvie! Please! Someone, anyone, please! Scott, Logan, Jean, Rogue, Professor!/_

 _Voices, shouting and screaming, so angry. "Stop struggling! Stop!"_

 _"No, no, she's running!"_

 _"Stop her!"_

 _Loud, a gunshot, screaming in the air. Screams, terror, pain /No! NO! Oh God, oh God, oh God, they shot her! Help me, help us, anyone, please! SOMEONE HELP ME!/_

Spencer came back to himself sitting on a chair. How he'd gotten from standing to here, he had no idea. But Logan was still beside him, holding him in place with one hand, and it looked like the others had moved no more than a step or two forward. Hank was stepping around Scott, obviously trying to hurry over to Spencer. But Spencer didn't even get a chance to think of what to say to them, or to croak out a plea for them to go get Remy. The door to the room whipped open and Remy came racing in. He moved straight for Spencer, leaping over the bed since the way was blocked by Keith and Hank. When he got to him, he didn't hesitate to plop himself right in Spencer's lap, straddling him and the chair both. He wrapped his arms around Spencer's head and pulled him in so that Spencer's head was sheltered against his chest. A shudder ran down Spencer's slender frame. He slid his arms under Remy's coat and clamped his hands down on the man's hips.

"What the hell?" Someone was demanding. "What're you doing?"

The noise made Spencer moan. He burrowed in to the blessed dark under Remy's jacket, burying his face even closer against him until his head was pretty well surrounded. He had Remy's chest in front of him, the trench coat against the side of his face, and one of Remy's arms wrapped around the back of his head so his hand could cover the ear that was facing outwards. Though sound was muffled now, Spencer still heard his Cajun furiously snap "Keep y'r voice down." Then the hand over Spencer's ear shifted away. Fingernails started to scratch soothingly over his scalp, a pleasant sensation to focus on. "Just hold on, _mon chou_. Hold on and find y'r way back to me."

"What's wrong?" Jean asked softly, her worry layered over her words.

Remy shifted again, though his hand kept up its gentle scratching. "De simplest way to put it is dat Spencer's empathy gives him visions. He's been using his power a lot de last few days and he aint had time to rest right from it yet. His shields are lower dan normal and his energy is less. When he's like dat, de link comes in stronger and he can't separate himself as well from what he sees. Dat's why I told him to wait f' me to do dis, de damn idiot."

"He didn't try." Logan interjected in a low rumble. "We were just talkin' and I touched him and he went down like a ton of bricks."

A shiver ran down Spencer's spine, an echo of the cold he'd felt in his vision. Everything had been so cold and dark and terrifying.

Remy felt his shiver and pressed them a little closer together. "Y'r okay, Spencer. Y'r okay."

"It was so cold." Spencer whispered against his shirt. He shivered and his hands clenched spasmodically on Remy's hips. "Everything was cold and dark."

"Who did y' see, Spencer?"

He drew in a ragged breath and pulled back from Remy just a little. Just enough that his words wouldn't be smothered. He lifted his eyes, ignoring his headache, and met Remy's gaze. "It was Jubilee. She's alive. Her head hurts from whatever they gave her, but she's unharmed."

The relief in the room was palpable. Logan's was the strongest of all.

Remy kept his eyes fixed on Spencer. His sunglasses were pushed up to the top of his head, allowing their eyes to actually meet. "Can y' tell where she was?"

Shuddering again, Spencer tried to push past his own feelings and think. "I'm not sure." He closed his eyes and focused again, drawing on the vision, trying to bring it back to his mind to focus on the details. Remy's low voice coached him through it and gave him something to anchor on as he did. "What do y' smell, cher?" He asked first.

It took him just a second to draw in the scents. His nose wrinkled and he drew his head back, eyes staying closed the entire time. "Urine. Vomit. Someone's been sick."

"Okay. Catalogue dose and push dem away. What else do y' smell?"

"Nothing. The bucket, it's too close, and the sick girl is just to my right. I can hear her, still heaving. Some of the others are crying."

"Move past dose, Spencer. Don't focus on deir pain. Can y' hear any other t'ings?"

It took a bit of concentrating to get beyond the tears and soft sobs. Their pain reached for him and he had to push had to keep it back. What else had he heard? "There's something, tapping." He said hesitantly. The little sound tugged at him, reminding him of something. What was that? "It's harder, with almost a metallic sound. Almost like…like someone walking, but overhead."

"Like someone in an apartment above y'?" Remy prompted.

"Kind of, but not quite." It started growing softer, moving towards the left. Then it was gone again and he made a sound of frustration. "It's gone now. It's too far away."

"Dat's fine. We'll move on. What do y' see, Spencer? Can y' see anyt'ing around y?"

"It's dark in here. There's a tiny bit of light, across the way, but it's only flashes. Like the sun peeking through a curtain. But mostly it's just dark." He shivered and his hands clenched again. "They just, they left us here in the dark. I don't like the dark." Spencer's voice lowered, softened to something younger and scared. "Bad things wait in the dark. I wish I had my lights like at home. Rogue gave em to me. She's the only one I ever told. She brought home glow in the dark stars and we laughed and put them up on my ceiling. We told everyone they were just for fun, cause I didn't want em to laugh at me."

"Oh my God." Jean whispered off to the side.

Remy lifted a hand toward her and waved at her to be silent. Then he brought his hands to Spencer's cheeks, stroking his thumbs over his high cheekbones. "Focus on de light, Spencer. Focus y'r eyes on de light. What do y' see when it flashes? Wait until de light comes and freeze de images right dere, like y'r hittin' pause on y'r memory. What do y' see?"

"Someone's coming." Spencer whispered achingly. His whole body went tense and his eyes snapped open. Everyone could see the distant look in them and they knew that Spencer wasn't seeing them. He was seeing something else entirely. "Oh, God, someone's coming. I want out of here. _Please_. Someone, anyone, I want out of here!"

"Spencer!" Remy said his name sharply, holding his face still. "Focus, Spencer. Focus. What do y' see?"

"The door's opening. Oh God. They've got a girl with them. She, she's fighting, trying to get free, and they're yelling at her. Oh God, oh God, oh God." Tremors ran up and down Spencer's body and his eyes seemed to grow even wider. "They shot her. She ran and they shot her. Oh, God! No, no, no, no, no! No! NO!"

To the shock of the whole room, Remy let go of Spencer's face only to suddenly backhand him, snapping his head to the side. Even as voices cried out, Spencer whipped his gaze to Remy's face and his eyes were clear once more. He didn't react at all to the slap. He knew why Remy had done it. He'd been losing himself in the vision and the physical pain had been enough to jolt him back to his own body. What Spencer focused on was the things he'd seen. "They're in the cargo hold of a ship." He blurted out, staring at Remy's face. "The moving light, it was because they're on the water and the swaying moves the curtain over the window. They've got cloth over it to try and make it dark down there. That sound I heard, that was people walking on the deck above them. We need to get down to the docks, _now_."

In one fluid move, Remy was up off of Spencer's lap and reaching out to pull him up as well. The two had grown very used to working with just the two of them after all this time. They didn't even really think about the others in the room at first. It wasn't until Keith stepped in their path that they recalled there were others here. "Wait a second." Keith demanded, holding his hands out. "What the hell is going on here? One minute your friend there is falling to the ground and then freaking out, the next you're _slapping_ him, and now you two are just going to go race out of here to attempt to find some mystery ship at a loaded dock?"

"Pretty much." Remy quipped. He turned his head to look at Scott, Jean and Hank. "Y' t'ree comin'?"

When it looked like Keith was going to protest again, there was the soft 'snitck' of Logan's claws as they slid free and then the feral man was stepping around them and holding his claws out towards the young mutant. "Listen here, bub. We brought ya with us cause yer important to Jubes. But I aint letting yer whining and groaning stop us from going to save her. In fifteen minutes, these two got more than we got in the past eighteen hours. So either shut up and follow em, or shut up and stay here, I don't give a damn. But I trust them with her life."

"Actually, Keith, I want you to stay here." Scott interrupted. At Keith's furious look, he held up his hand. "I need someone here to let Ororo and Rogue know what's going on when they return. You three can follow once they get back. Hank, Jean, I want you with us. We might need you, Hank." Orders given, Scott looked to Remy and Spencer and nodded. "Lead the way."


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't just as simple as going to the docks and pointing out which ship to go on. They had to remain discreet and unnoticed while they tried to figure out which ship they needed. If they were noticed acting suspiciously, the men could either head out early, or kill the girls to try and protect themselves. They wanted neither one to happen. But they were limited in their ways to look. Logan couldn't track as well through all the scents that were prominent in an area like this. There was just too much and it mixed him up.

So, Scott went to the office to try and see what information he might be able to gather there without arousing too much suspicion. Remy, Spencer, Jean and Logan waited out of the way, keeping out of sight. "If we can narrow down the area," Jean told them. "I can scan the minds around there. Like this, it would take too long to scan each individual ship."

Narrow it down, huh? Spencer looked at the ships. "Well, we're looking for a certain type of ship. One that's the size they'd need to be able to hold the girls inside of it." He closed his eyes and pulled up the images he'd seen once more, trying to gauge the ship around him instead of the people this time. He froze the image on the widest frame he recalled. It was simple for him to build up some kind of reference in his head and to use that to estimate the size of the area around the girls. He drew in what he could, pulling every little detail. Then he used that to extrapolate outwards. A moment later his eyes snapped open and scanned the area around them. No, no, no, none of these. Spencer tapped the back of Remy's hand and discreetly pointed to the right. Immediately Remy moved with him, placing himself at Spencer's side and essentially playing guard as Spencer looked over every ship they passed.

It only took five minutes before Spencer stopped them. He'd been so caught up in his search, he hadn't even noticed Scott joining them once again. "That one" He said, pointing to a ship just ahead of them. "It's that one."

Jean closed her eyes and a look of concentration appeared on her face. A few moments later, her expression cleared. They all knew before she even spoke; the look on her face gave it away. "She's on there! She says it's about time we got here and can we _please_ hurry and get her out of there."

Everyone had to smile at that. Spencer, however, was still looking at the ship. He tapped Remy's hand again, drawing his eyes. "I think, with the people we have, a three-prong approach would be best."

" _Oui_ , dat's what I was t'inking." Remy agreed. He kept his voice low, head bowed down so that any passing by probably assumed they were two lovers sharing a moment. "A diversion here on de docks to draw some out. Another set up on de ship, engaging de others. Den we can slip in and get de kids out. We get de collars off, we might get some help from dem, too."

"Can you set a delayed charge for something out on the main dock area? Nothing big, just enough to draw attention and raise a commotion."

"Got a few t'ings in m' coat dat should do de trick."

"Good."

The two turned to face the others and Remy flashed them all a sharp grin. "All right, _mes amis_. Here's what we're gonna do…"

* * *

Though his skills had much improved in his time with Remy, sneaking around still left Spencer feeling as nervous as could be. Remy told him that it was a normal sensation and that it was when he lost those nerves that he'd find himself in trouble. Still, Spencer wished he could be comfortable enough to feel a little _less_ nervous. He was always afraid his old grace was going to kick in and he'd mess things up and get them caught or hurt. The fact that Remy seemed to have so much faith in him and his abilities never failed to amaze him.

Their bomb on the dock had gone off great. It was a small explosion, more smoke than damage, and it had drawn quite a few out. That provided them with enough cover for Jean to get them all onto the far side of the ship. From there, they split, the others going to try to contain whoever else was on the ship, leaving Spencer and Remy to deal with whoever was between them and the girls below. Spencer sensed quite a few people below him and had to take a quick second to count them all and match them with what he'd seen with the girls. In their bastardized sign language, he let Remy know. _'Three hostiles below.'_

Remy nodded and signed back to him, letting Spencer know that he was going in first. The two paused outside the only hatch, their only entrance, and they took a bracing breath to prepare themselves. They had to go in hot, there was no other way. With this being the only entrance they'd be made from the instant the door opened. That meant they had to go in already fighting and not give the others a chance to muster up any kind of defense. Remy's cards weren't the best plan down here, not without risking putting a hole in the ship, so he had his Bo out already and ready to go. Spencer crouched down behind him, hands held at the ready, steading himself to do what he had to do. He had learned long ago that hesitating against people who would kill you in a heartbeat was a good way to end up dead.

While preparing could seem to take forever sometimes, time slipping by so slowly, the fight itself always seemed to speed by. Remy opened the door and the two men flowed in quickly, moving straight to their targets. Spencer had been right in his counting; there were three. Remy took out the first with a blow to the head within a minute of being inside. Spencer got the next one up against the bars of one of the cells, using the hand to hand moves that Remy had drilled into him. It only took moments and all three men were unconscious on the ground.

Remy scooped up the keys off the ground and immediately opened the cell door. He tossed his Bo over to Spencer, who caught it and held it at the ready. Then he turned his attention to the girls who were all climbing to their feet, staring at him in shock. He flashed them a grin. "Line up here and let Gambit get de collar off y', den go over and stand by Herald. We're gonna get y' outta here _mais_ we need y' to listen and listen well."

The third person in line was Jubilee. She almost sobbed at the sight of him. "Oh man, Gambit, are you sure a sight for sore eyes. I can't even get up a good mad ya for being gone."

He smirked at her and kissed her cheek while he unlocked her collar. "Y' can kick Gambit's ass later and den kiss it better, petit. F' now, y' help Herald get de others in line. Everyone else is up above. We gon' have to move fast."

The low, familiar tingle hit the base of Spencer's skull, just low key this time, and he felt the vision slip over him. The others, up above on the desk. Eyes distant, Spencer called out "Gambit, our backup arrived. Storm, Rogue and the other are on scene. They've got everything contained up there but we've got seven minutes before their backup arrives. We need to be gone by then." He blinked away the vision and looked back to his partner, who was unhooking the last girl. "We need to move, now."

"Let's roll." Remy called back. He held his hand out and Spencer tossed the Bo back to him. The two took point, leading their way out.

They hit the deck just as the last of the guys was being subdued. Jubilee took one look at Logan and shrieked out "Wolvie!" before tearing across the deck to him. He caught her up in his arms and held her close and tight, burying his face in her hair to draw in the scent of her and reassure all parts of himself that she was back with him and that she was okay.

Remy and Spencer didn't stop moving. They led the other girls over towards the group. As they got close, Spencer told them "We've got six minutes, twenty seconds before backup arrives. We need to get these girls out of here, now."

"We need to stall. Dere aint no way out cept fo' racin' de docks." Remy told them. "Stormy, y' create some cover fo' us? Wolvie, y' bring up de rear, keep our back safe. Gambit and Herald will take point. De rest of y', y' help de girls move? Dey're mostly still sick or drugged and dey aint gon' be able to keep up wit' us. We need to move, now!"

Neither Remy nor Spencer saw anything strange about the barked orders. The others looked to Scott, slightly unsure of what to do. Only Logan immediately moved into place. When Scott gave the nod, the others moved into place as well. Then, as a group, they moved.

Only a few men tried to stop them along the way and those were easily taken care of. Rogue flew ahead, getting both vehicles turned on and ready to go so that all they had to do was climb inside once they reached the parking lot. Remy and Spencer hopped on their bike and they stuck to the back of the two vehicles as they raced out of there. They made sure no one followed.

* * *

It wasn't really that surprising that none of the girls wanted to stick around for any help. Pretty much all of them were street girls, untrusting of anyone and even more so after this. But still, Remy tried to help steer them right. "Dere's a _femme_ , Ruby, dat's down in y'r part of town. Y' go to her, tell her y'r de girls Gambit and Herald helped, and she'll do what she can fo' y'. Get y' outta town, y' and y'r families. She's good people."

There was no telling if they'd take him up on that. But they couldn't force the girls to accept help. All they could do was offer it and hope they'd take it. It went against the grain, but the X-Men dropped the girls off downtown and let them go as they wanted. Then they headed back to the hotel with Jubilee so that Hank could take the time to look at her properly.

Spencer was trying his very best to hold on tight. Not just physically, but mentally as well. He clung tightly to Remy and tried to keep his body and his mind alert. He'd done too much the past few days, pushed too hard with not enough sleep, and his visions had drained him. He was running off almost nothing and his body was finally starting to protest it now that the adrenaline from the afternoon's events was starting to drain away. Despite his best efforts, however, he felt his body slowly starting to sink into Remy, getting heavier and heavier. He knew Remy felt it too. A hand was suddenly pressing firmly over top of his, which were resting against Remy's stomach. The motorcycle picked up speed, zipping past the cars they'd been following. "Hold on!" Remy called back to him.

He wanted to tell him that he was trying. He wanted to say he was doing the best he could. But the darkness was creeping in at the corners of his vision and Spencer knew his best wasn't going to be enough. There was just only so much a body could take. His finally reached its limit. With a final sigh of surrender, he slumped against Remy's back.

The only thing that saved him was that Remy had been prepared. He tightened his grip over Spencer's hands, cursing roundly. Then he sent up a quick prayer of thanks as the motel came into view in front of them. He whipped the bike into the parking lot and down towards their room. In moments he had the bike parked and was slipping off it, carefully twisting as he did so that he could catch Spencer's body. He was just scooping him up in his arms marriage style when the others came pulling in.

Jean was the first one out and she hurried over towards them. "Oh, what happened? Is he okay?"

" _Oui_ , he's fine, Jeannie. He just needs to lie down. He did too much wit' too little in him." Remy carried his precious bundle over towards their room. When he got to the door, he had to set Spencer's legs down so he could reach into his pocket and pull out his key. In a flash he had the door unlocked and open and Spencer back up in his arms. He headed straight for the bed. Jean tried to follow in after him, still obviously concerned, and Remy waved her off once he'd laid Spencer on the bed. "Y' go on an take care of de petit, Jeannie. Remy knows what to do fo' Spencer. He'll be fine."

He didn't even really pay attention to whatever it was she said. All he cared about was that she left, shutting the door behind her. It allowed Remy to turn his full attention to his partner. He looked at the slender face and the pain lines around his eyes, still there even in unconsciousness, and he cursed again. " _Fils de putain_. I told y' I wasn't gon' let y' do dis to y'rself no more, cher." He scolded, even though he knew Spencer couldn't hear him. It helped him feel better as he set about getting his partner comfortable. He reached for his shoes first, untying them and pulling them off. "Y' can't burn y'rself out dis way. I aint sacrificing y'r life fo' none of deirs. Y' hear me?" He glared up at him briefly. "I'll let dem all go to hell b'fore I lose y' like dis. Y' aint leavin' me."

Remy stripped Spencer of his weapons and his jacket. His hands were gentle, a contrast to the angry sounding words.

"Y'r gon' lay here and sleep, Spencer Reid. Den, when y' wake up, I'm gon' stuff y' full of food. Y'r body needs it. Wherever we go next, it can wait. Y' need to recover fo' a bit. Hell, after de last place, we both need some recovery time, _non_?"

Eventually, Remy had him down to just his boxers, socks and shirt. Only then did he pull the blanket back and then gently tuck him in. He laid down on top of the blanket right beside him. With one hand, he stroked Spencer's cheek lightly, tracing the features that were etched forever on his heart. "Y' gotta take care of y'rself, _mon cœur_. Aint none of dis worth it if y' aint here wit' me."

How long he lay there, staring at Spencer's face, he didn't know. But eventually there was a light knock on the door. Remy smoothly moved up off the bed and across the room. When he cracked the door open, he wasn't too surprised to see who was there. Scott, Hank, Jean and Ororo. He'd known they were going to come. He also knew they weren't going to just leave. He opened the door wide to let them in, gesturing with his other hand. "C'mon in."

All except Ororo startled at seeing the gun in his hand. Remy held it casually as he turned around and walked over towards the bed. "Keep y'r voices low. How's Jubilee doin'? She okay?"

"Well enough." Hank answered him in a low rumble. "Physically, she will be fine. The rest, well…she is firmly tucked in against her Wolvie at the moment and I can think of no better therapy."

Remy made a sound of agreement. He set the gun on the nightstand and sat down on the bed near Spencer's head, leaning back against the headboard. Spencer had made the shift from straight unconsciousness into the sleep that his body required. It relaxed Remy a little more to feel that difference. He soothed himself by letting his fingers dance over Spencer's short hair. He missed the longer locks and thought to himself that he'd have to see if Spencer would grow it out again for him. "She's a strong girl. Dis'll scare her fo' a while, _mais_ wit' everyone around her, she'll heal from it an she'll get stronger."

There were soft footsteps and Remy looked up to see Hank coming closer to the bed. "Might I offer my skills to check over your friend?"

" _Non, merci_ Henri." Remy smiled reassuringly and continued to trace his fingers over Spencer's hair. "Aint not'ing y' can do fo' him. We been on de move fo' days on end an he's been usin' his powers too much. De visions, dey're tied in to his empathy, an using dem too much puts a strain on him. His body just shut down fo' a bit to try and rebuild his energy and reset his walls, dat's all. Aint de first time it's happened." He looked down at Spencer once more and his expression was both fond and exasperated. "He's a stubborn one, m' Spencer. Always has been."

"You care for him a great deal." Jean said softly. She moved up and took a seat at the edge of the bed, near Spencer's feet.

Remy nodded at her words. " _Oui_. He's de better parts of me."

"Who is he?" Scott asked. He pulled up one of the chairs and brought it near the bed, turning it around backwards and straddling it. He folded his arms on the top and rested on them, watching Remy's face.

His question was asking for more than a name, more than a base description, and they all knew it. Remy knew what was being asked. This was Scott's way of leading in to an explanation. Stroking his fingers down Spencer's cheek, Remy wished his partner was awake to help him through this conversation. It wasn't going to be a pleasant one. But, no, right now Spencer needed sleep. More than anything else, he needed sleep. Remy wouldn't begrudge him that. So he just took solace in the man's presence at his side and used that to help him get through this. "He's Spencer, and he's been m' best friend since we was just teenagers. Met him when he was in college, back when he was just fifteen." He saw their surprise and he smiled. "He's a genius. High IQ, eidetic memory, de works. He started college at thirteen, I t'ink it was. Doesn't matter, really. We met back den and we been friends ever since." He looked back down at Spencer's face and ran his knuckles over the sleeping man's cheek. "He's been by m' side through all dis. He was where I was going to when I left y'all."

"Why did you feel you had to leave at all, Remy?" Jean asked.

"I was jus' going on vacation at first. _Mais_ , t'ings happened. T'ings changed. I...couldn't come back."

"Why?"

He blew out a breath, wishing he didn't have to get into this. But they deserved the truth. They all did. He'd give them what little of it he could. "It was de only way to keep everyone safe." He admitted in a soft voice.

"Safe from what?" Scott asked.

"From Eli." Remy tipped his head up and surprised them by pulling his sunglasses off and rubbing at his eyes. A small headache was brewing behind his eyes. He dropped his sunglasses on the nightstand beside him. "It's a long, complicated mess, Scotty. An it aint all t'ings I can get into right at de moment." The way his eyes slid to Jean and Hank and back again wasn't missed by those two. Jean sent a private thought to her husband. At his reply, she rose from the bed. "We'll leave the two of you to talk about this." She told them. "Hank? Why don't we go check on Jubilee and make sure she's doing well?"

"Of course, my dear." Hank said.

When they were gone and the door was once more shut, Scott was still sitting in his seat. He quirked one eyebrow up. "Okay, it's just us. Start at the beginning and tell me what's going on."

Scott, Charles and Logan had been the only people at the mansion to truly know the extent of Remy's extra-curricular activities. They were the only ones that knew of the jobs that Charles would send him on sometimes when he needed discreet work done. It was too ingrained in Remy not to mention it to anyone else. There was no telling just how any would react if they found out that the thieving skills they scorned Remy for were in actuality being put to use by those in power at the mansion. Not everyone would recognize the need for it.

More relaxed now that the crowd was less, Remy settled a little better into the bed. "I went on a job fo' Charles not long b'fore I left. I went and stole some data from a company. Dere was a time limit on de info Charles had, so I didn't do m' own recon. I trusted his information. _Merde_ , it weren't right. Was just finishing de job when security came in and dey made me. I thought I took down de fool dat saw me." A scowl twisted Remy's face. He still couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. "Dat was de last time I took a job wit'out doin' m' own recon."

"They found out?"

" _Oui_. Dey knew de information was gone and dey found out it was _moi_. Still don't know how. I went to go see Spencer and I found his place ransacked. He'd been kidnapped. Wasn't much later dat I got a call dat told me dey'd trade me Spencer fo' de information." Remy felt an echo of his anger from that night. The fury that had boiled through every inch of him. He watched Spencer sleep, needing that reminder that his partner was right here with him. It was the only thing that helped keep his anger under control right now. "I called in a few old friends an we got Spencer outta dere. Just barely, _mais_ we did."

"Where did you go?" Scott asked. Unspoken was the question ' _Why didn't you come to us?'_

A sigh slipped from Remy. "We got far away and we got into a hotel. I got Spencer cleaned up and checked out. I was gonna leave Spencer dere, I really was, _mais_ he's a stubborn one and he wasn't lettin' me go off on m' own. Dis guy, he's a bad man, Scotty. I aint talkin' little bad, neither. He's one of de worst. De information dat I took, he wasn't gon' stop until he got it back, no matter what."

"But you didn't have it anymore."

That actually made Remy smile a little. "Well…"

Scott stared at him for a second before a reluctant smile quirked his lips. "You made a copy."

"Gotta have some kind of insurance in m' line of work, Scotty." He winked at the man. Then his smile melted away. "De information was coded. It took Spencer a bit to decode t'ings enough fo' us to understand. But dat wasn't till about a week later. Dat night, de reason we ran, why we didn't come to y'all, was cause dey'd already proved dat dey wouldn't hesitate to take someone close to me to try and take me down. An dey showed dey didn't fear repercussion. Dey took Spencer right out of his home. Spencer, he was a Fed, Scotty. Part of the BAU. A profiler dat hunted serial killers. Dey wasn't afraid to take a Fed from his home, even knowing de manhunt dat would happen."

"We're not helpless people, Remy." Scott pointed out. "We could've helped keep you safe. We could've protected you until we figured out a way to fix this. In a sense, this is the Professor's responsibility and his mess to clean up."

" _Non_ , it aint. It's mine." Remy argued. On this he was firm. "I'm de one dat got lazy and didn't do m' own work. It don't matter none now anyways, _mon ami_. What's done is done. Spencer and me, we went our own way. Maybe y' don't see dat as right, _mais_ it's what we did." His expression hardened and Scott saw some of the changes that had come over his friend since he'd last seen him. There was a hardness to Remy that he'd only glimpsed at before. It was there now, right out there in the open, and there was no doubt that the man was dangerous. Lethal. His voice even changed, getting just a bit lower and harder than it had been. "We knew Eli wouldn't never stop huntin' me, so we been huntin' him. De information I got from him, it led us to some of de work he's doing. He's a trafficker, Cyke. A human trafficker fo' mutants and normal alike. He steals and sells dem all over de world. An he takes em, sends up fo' testing and shit dat not even Sinister would put dem through – an dat's barely de tip of de iceberg of shit dat he's involved in. If we would've come to de X-Men fo' help, we would've been restricted in what we can do. Y'all follow certain rules dat men like Eli wouldn't never follow. To take him down, we gotta be prepared to stoop to his level."

"What have you been doing, Remy?" Scott asked slowly.

Remy's lip curled up slightly. "Don't y' try looking high and mighty wit' me, Scott Summers. We aint done not'ing dat didn't need to be done. We would've gone straight fo' Eli and killed de _connard, mais_ Spencer talked sense into me. Pointed out dat dey'd just put a new head up and be gunnin' fo' us even harder. So, we been traveling all over de world, ferreting out pieces of his organization and taking dem down. We've freed countless people. And _oui_ , dat takes some methods dat maybe y' don't approve of. Methods dat de X-Men never would've done. But someone had to do it. Dese people, dey gotta be stopped."

Scott sat up a little straighter and his voice sharpened slightly into that tone that Remy remembered, the leader tone he pulled out when business became serious. "So you and your ex-fed partner here just decided that you'd be the ones to stop them, all on your own? That you'd travel like two vigilantes and just take out this worldwide organization all by yourself?"

"Who de hell else is gon' do it?" Remy snapped furiously.

"We would've helped you, you idiot! Maybe the rest of the X-Men don't always recognize when this kind of action is called for but you know I would've listened to you. You know that better than anyone else. Who was the one who agreed with you on certain things, even when Charles didn't? Who saw the necessity of things and cut yours and Logan's leashes once in a while, without telling a damn soul?" Sitting up straighter, Scott glared at him. "Did you seriously think I wouldn't have backed you on this? Maybe we couldn't have gone with you, but we could've at least provided you with resources and support. We could've helped with intel gathering and supplied you with information this whole time. Instead, you had to go off half-cocked and put yourselves at risk!"

The loud voices and angry emotions finally broke through Spencer's deep sleep. The young empath stirred, one hand lifting and reaching out for Remy, body turning towards him even though he was still mostly asleep. Instantly Remy turned his attention to his partner. He caught Spencer's hand, drawing it in close and pressing a kiss against the back of his glove. With his other hand he stroked over Spencer's back. He murmured soothingly to him, soft shushing sounds that eased Spencer back down. The young genius curled up on his side and used what little strength he seemed to have to lift his head up and rest it on Remy's thigh, wrapping his arms around that thigh as well and snuggling in. Remy just kept up stroking his back until he had him fully soothed down and asleep once more.

Soothing Spencer had worked to soothe down his own emotions as well. He should've known better than to let himself get so heated with Spencer weak like this right now. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his partner.

When he looked back up at Scott, his face was calmer, more controlled, and his voice was lower and steadier. "Y' don't gotta talk to me about risk, Scotty. Y' aint got no idea of de risk here dat y'r talkin' about. Keeping away from all of y' was de only t'ing I could do to keep y' safe. De t'ings dey could've done to any of y', I wasn't gon' have dat on m' conscience. Eli has de money to hire people, hire mutants even, to take out anyone he wants. He would've tried to take any of y' out to get to me an stop me." Much as he hated to do it, hated to even think about this, Remy reached down and drew one of Spencer's hands up towards him. There was one way to make Scott understand. "A few months after we ran, Spencer and I separated fo' somet'ing. He was tired and still being trained an dey got de jump on him."

With gentle hands, he drew the glove off of Spencer's hand, revealing what was underneath. He heard Scott's sucked in breath when the man saw the prosthetic device covering half of Spencer's hands. "Dey wanted him to tell dem where to find me. Dey used a fucking cigar cutter on him, Scotty. A _cigar cutter_." Battling back the sick feeling in his stomach that he felt every time he thought of this, he slid the glove back on to Spencer's hand. "By de time I got to him, he was missing dose t'ree fingers, had a couple busted ribs and a dislocated shoulder. Plus, dey'd been havin' fun tryin' to carve on him, trying to get him to talk, cause he wasn't giving dem nothing. So don't y' talk to me about risk. Bad enough dat I couldn't protect him. I had to protect y'all. I couldn't have anyt'ing tying me to de mansion, or else he would've found out and he would've used y' against me somehow."

The room stayed quiet for a few moments while Remy settled Spencer's hand back down and Scott processed what he'd heard. The man always had a quick and sharp mind and it was one thing that Remy had enjoyed about him. In his time at the mansion, he'd discovered that there was far more to Scott than most people saw. He looked like the poster boy for good on the outside, but underneath there was a devious mind that could come out to play at the right times. Scott had often been the only one to recognize when other action was needed. He believed in the Dream, but enough of the street kid in him still lived enough to recognize that the methods Charles used weren't always the best. Sometimes more action was needed.

After a few moments of silence, Scott readjusted in his seat, drawing himself together, and Remy could see that he'd come to some kind of decision. He lifted his chin and Remy felt the gaze through his sunglasses. "Whether we were involved before or not is pretty much a moot point by now. What's done is done and we can't change it. But we are involved now, Remy. We got involved the minute Jubilee was taken. I mean, I feel pretty safe in assuming that the operation that took her is part of the one you're hunting. That's why Logan called you, right?"

"One of de reasons." Remy admitted. "He knows all he ever has to do is call and we'll come, no matter what. We owe him too much."

"We'll get into that at another time. Don't think I'm not pissed that the runt got to know but I didn't. The point I was trying to make, though, is that we know now what's going on. We're involved. I want you to give us a chance to help."

"Cyke…"

"Hear me out. I'm not asking you to drop your cause. I'm asking that you come to us, spend one week at the mansion and talk with us. Build a plan together and see what we can come up with, as a team. If, once that week's up, you guys still want to go on your way, I won't stop you. I'll set up something for secure communication with you, but I'll let you go. Just give us one week, Remy. If anything, it'll at least give you guys a safe place to rest and recover where you won't have to watch your back constantly."

That was the right button to push. Scott always had been good at doing that. Remy looked down at Spencer, his exhausted love, and he knew there was only one answer he could give. Spencer needed the rest. He needed the security to heal a little. Lifting his head, he nodded. "One week. Jus' one." He said firmly. "And y' better make sure dat people mind demselves. I'll take deir shit and ignore it, _mais_ dey better not give Spencer shit fo' being wit' me or fo' his part in dis. I won't hesitate to knock em on deir ass fo' it. Don't no one dere know him or got any kind of right to judge him."

"Deal."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning dawned way too early for them. Remy had insisted that he wouldn't leave until Spencer woke up and they had a chance to talk about this. If Spencer refused, then they wouldn't stay. Remy warned Scott of that. He wouldn't force Spencer to go and he wouldn't go without him.

But Spencer surprised Remy completely when he woke up, yawning and stretching before he turned and asked "When do we leave? I'm interested to finally see this famous Mansion you talk about so much."

"How de hell…" Remy trailed off when he saw Spencer lift his hand and waggle his fingers at him, smirking just a little. "Y' saw it? When?"

"On the plane on our way out here."

"And y' didn't say not'ing?"

Spencer shrugged one shoulder and rose from the bed, giving another stretch. "You had to make the decision yourself without my influence." He strolled over towards the bathroom, wincing as his aching body protested every movement. Good grief, he felt like he'd been run over by a truck. What he needed was coffee. Gallons of it. And maybe a shower.

After he took care of his morning business, he was washing his hands and happened to look up in the mirror. "Ugh."

"What?" Remy asked, strolling in behind him. He had absolutely no shame and went straight to the toilet to relieve himself. They'd long since broken that comfort barrier with one another.

Spencer finished rinsing his hands off and scowled at his reflection while he scooped up the hand towel. "How does that expression go? I look like I'm coming off a three day drunk."

The toilet flushed and Remy stepped up to take his turn washing his hands. He cast Spencer a look through the mirror and scrutinized him for a moment. " _Oui_ , y' look like shit, cher. Y' should hop in de shower, see if it'll help."

"Gee, thanks, Remy. I'm feeling the love." Spencer snapped the towel at him, smirking when Remy gave a low yelp. He tossed the towel over so Remy could dry his hands and then he moved to the shower to turn the water on and get it running. "You never did answer me before, anyways. When are we leaving?"

"I told dem we could leave dis morning, once I had de chance to talk it over wi' y'." Remy finished drying his hands and used the towel to deliver a snap of his own to Spencer's backside, smirking when Spencer jumped and spun to glare at him. He darted out of the room, safely out of reach, and raised his voice so that Spencer would still be able to hear him. "Scotty wants us to stay fo' a week and see what dey can do to help. He said if we still wanna leave when de week's up, he won't stop us. He just wants a chance to see if he can help first."

"It's a smart plan." Spencer pulled off his clothes, piling them up on the bathroom counter. "We'll get a chance to regroup as well. We were about to go to ground for a bit anyways and try to plan out our next move. Why not do it there where we can be safe and comfortable? Like you said, there's no reason we have to stay when the week is up." Stripped down, he removed the prosthetic last, putting it on top of the pile. He only took a second to look down at the familiar scarring on his hand before he dropped his hand down and climbed underneath the warm spray of the shower.

"Dat's what I figured." Remy called back. "Plus, like Scotty pointed out, dey're involved now. Dere's no way dat someone aint gon' report back to Eli dat we was at his ship yesterday and dat other X-Men were dere. He's gon' know dat we was around dem and he'll send people after dem." Remy's voice moved, getting closer again. "We need to warn dem about him and what he does, what he's like. Dey gotta be as prepared as possible fo' what he's gon' try and do. Dey aint used to people dat play de way he does."

Spencer winced and looked down, his eyes once more traveling to his hand. He hated being without his gloves. Despite the fantastic prosthetic that Remy had gotten him, he hated seeing his hand. Hated seeing what it was. Hated even more the ache that was currently sitting it, reminding him that he'd used his hand quite a bit lately and the muscles didn't react well to that. No matter how hard he worked or how much he tried to strengthen this hand, the muscles had been damaged pretty badly and his hand would never have the strength it used to.

The shower curtain moved suddenly and Spencer felt as Remy slipped in behind him. A moment later those familiar arms slid around his waist and he found himself pulled back flush against Remy's body. One of Remy's arms banded over his waist and the other hand lifted, catching Spencer's left one. He drew it up and leaned over Spencer's shoulder so that he could press a kiss against each spot where a finger should be. He felt Spencer twitch a little with each one but he didn't stop. Spencer hated how it looked. He hated it so damn much. But Remy had told him, time and time again, that he didn't care at all. He loved him no matter what. Generally, Spencer tried to keep his feelings about it on the inside because he knew that Remy still felt guilt, even though it wasn't his fault. Spencer had never blamed him for it. He didn't have to, though. Remy blamed himself enough.

The last thing Spencer wanted was to let melancholy thoughts interfere in this private moment, though. They'd gotten pretty adept at taking these moments together and using them for all they were worth. Before they could lose the moment now, Spencer grinned and turned in Remy's arms. Then he took a step back, yanking him back and letting the shower spray hit him full in the face. Remy sputtered and jerked back. He shook his head much like a dog while Spencer's laughter echoed around them. He glared at his partner through the wet bangs plastered on his face. "Oh, y' t'ink dat's funny, do y'?"

"Uh huh." Spencer grinned widely, knowing he'd just asked for a ton of trouble.

All their problems and issues fell to the wayside underneath the good humor and love that flowed between the two of them. They lost themselves in each other, knowing their troubles would be waiting for them once they were done. Here, now, they were together, and that was what was important.

* * *

The two were finished with their shower and had just finished dressing when there was a knock on their door. Spencer recognized the feel of who it was and jogged over to the door. He opened it wide and smiled when he found Logan there, Jubilee plastered to his side. That smile grew to a grin when he saw that both carried coffee, one in each hand. Logan held his two out to Spencer. "Figured you and the Cajun might want these."

Spencer took the coffee and breathed it in with a happy sigh. "I most definitely do. Thank you, Logan." He stepped back and gestured with one of the cups. "Please, both of you, come on in."

"Do I smell coffee?" Remy called out from the bathroom. He was in there taking care of his morning shave.

Winking at Logan, Spencer called out "Absolutely not. There's no coffee out here, dear. Maybe you should go get us some later."

They all heard Remy's loud snort. "Jus' how stupid do y' t'ink I am, Spencer? Drink m' coffee and I won't buy y' none later."

"Psh. I don't need you to buy me coffee!"

"As if y' ever buy y'r own."

Their bickering seemed to be amusing Jubilee, who was covering her mouth with a hand to try and smother her giggles. Luckily, she'd given her other coffee to Logan, who was leaning against the wall and drinking his with a big smirk on his face. He was well used to the two of them and how they could be. "Got the boy whipped, do ya?" He teased Spencer.

Setting Remy's cup down on the nightstand beside his sunglasses, Spencer took his own with him as he climbed onto the bed and sat cross legged in the middle. "We have an understanding, he and I. If he wants me up and coherent early in the morning, he better be the one to provide the coffee. It just kind of progressed from there. Now, he keeps me supplied in coffee constantly." Taking a sip, Spencer hummed appreciatively. "Thank you for this, by the way. You saved us a trip to the coffee shop."

"Don't thank me." Logan jerked his thumb toward Jubilee. "It was the sprout's idea."

Spencer's smile softened a little as he turned it towards Jubilee, who was now looking down at her cup with a shy look of her own. "Then let me say thanks to you, Miss Jubilation."

"It's no big deal. It was, you know, the least I could do." She bit her lip for a second and then gathered courage and looked up at him. "From what I hear, I kind of owe my rescue to you guys. Wolvie said they might not have found me if it weren't for you and your visions."

Now it was Spencer's turn to look flustered. "Everyone played their part in things. Mine was no more important than anyone else's."

Remy came strolling out then, rubbing a hand over his freshly trimmed goatee. He cast a broad grin at Jubilee and winked. "We couldn't just leave y' dere, petit. Course we came and helped."

The sight of the Cajun had her lighting up. "Oh, man, look at you!" she cried .The two moved towards one another and met in a brief, tight hug. Then she pulled back and gave his short hair a tug with one hand. "Look at the short hair! And the goatee! Man, I almost didn't recognize ya!"

"Look who's talkin'." Remy stepped back and gave her a once over. "Y' done grown up on me, petit! Lil Jubilee aint so lil no more. Y'r shaping up to be a mighty _belle femme_."

A low growl from Logan had them all chuckling. "Watch it, Cajun." He warned. "She's still a little girl in my books."

Remy winked at Jubilee before nodding gravely at Logan. " _Mais oui,_ M. Logan."

From his spot on the bed, Spencer watched his partner play with the other two, the enjoyment almost radiating from him. It was obvious just how happy he was to see both of them and how much he enjoyed their company. This was what Spencer wanted for him; this peace right here. He wanted Remy to have this again in his life. Peace, happiness. Friends. Not this constant running and fighting and scraping by to survive. He wanted to watch Remy smile and laugh this way all the time, not just in stolen moments. Spencer took a sip of his coffee and let his gaze drop down to his lap. What was wrong with him today? Why was he under such melancholy thoughts? He didn't typically sit and lament his life like this. He'd learned how to be grateful for every moment they had. Sitting around and wishing for things to be different just wasn't a part of who he was. So why was he?

When he posed the question like that in his mind, it had him truly thinking about it. From there, it was only a moment before he realized why he was feeling this way. The thoughts were his own—the wishful feeling, the sadness, that _wasn't_ his. Spencer's eyes lifted and sought out Jubilee across the room. She was watching Logan tell some story but the way she held herself, the slight tightness to her features, told an entirely different story. Spencer hadn't realized that his shields were still this low. He was picking up on her emotions and they were slipping in over top of his so softly that he'd barely realized they weren't his own. He took an extra second to push his shields up stronger and that feeling faded away. That took care of his problem. Now, how could he help with hers?

Something caught at the outermost part of Spencer's shields, a soft sense of something that took him a moment to figure out. Habit that had become instinct had him looking at that something and analyzing it, categorizing it to see if it was a threat. Anger, righteousness, satisfaction, anticipation, nerves…he'd felt this type of bundle before. Not this person, per se. This combination of emotions. Spencer's eyes went wide and he was moving in a flash, his coffee dropped and forgotten on the bed. "Get down!"

Remy didn't hesitate to respond to Spencer's words. He grabbed Jubilee in one quick move and twisted, dropping them both down to the ground with his body over hers. Logan dropped, but not before the first bullets tore through the window and ripped into his arm. He hit the ground with a thud and a grunt. Spencer lay flat as the air above them was riddled with bullets. He reached out mentally, feeling how many were out there and where they were.

In a small break in the fire, Remy took advantage and reached up, grabbing their bags and yanking them down to the ground. Spencer quickly crawled close and reached inside. Having his gun made him feel just a tiny bit better. "We've got to get her out of here!" He told Remy, gesturing to Jubilee.

A loud cry from outside filled the air and the gunfire suddenly cut off, shifting to another direction. Spencer felt more people coming close and then Logan was moving, up and on his feet and his claws free before anyone could say a word. "Get her outta here!" He snapped at the two. Then he charged straight out the front door. Spencer saw Remy's reaction and he knew what the man wanted to do. With one hand he waved him off. "Go! I'll get her out the bathroom. But go back him up, now!"

Spencer didn't waste any more time. He grabbed Jubilee's hand and pulled her up into a crouch with him, grabbing the bags as well. "Come on, we need to move!"

"I can go help!" She argued, trying to tug him the other way. "Let me go help them!"

He tugged back even harder and yanked her towards the bathroom. "You wouldn't be any help right now."

"I can fight!"

"You can be a liability." Spencer told her. "Because those men out there, they want to kill us, but they want to _take_ you. They'll catch you and take you right back to those cells. We're not going to give them that opportunity. We're getting you out of the way so the others can fight without having to try and make sure to keep you from being taken at the same time. Now, let's move!" He pulled them into the bathroom and rose to his feet, moving straight to the window. A quick mental check showed him that no one was outside. He shimmied the window open and then pulled the bags on and tightened the straps before climbing out.

He'd just finished helping Jubilee climb out when he felt someone coming up around the corner. In a flash he was turning, yanking Jubilee behind him. It was in just enough time to see two men come around the corner. One look showed him the guns in their hand. He couldn't hesitate; that was a lesson he'd learned the hard way. Lifting his gun, he fired two shots. The men hit the ground before they even knew what was happening. Spencer grabbed Jubilee's hand and told her "Come on!"

Where the hell was he going to take her? His heart screamed to stash her somewhere and then spin around and race back there and be with Remy. They didn't separate; they just didn't. A fight may pull them apart for a few moments here and there but they always found a way back to one another. They stayed together. To run off and leave him here felt beyond wrong. But Jubilee was his priority right now. He was supposed to be protecting her. That was what part he'd taken up. Then again…there was no reason he couldn't do both.

Spencer hauled Jubilee around the building with him and towards the main part of the parking lot. There, he could finally see the fight. _Oh, hell_. Eli had sent a hell of a team. There were at least twenty of them out here right now and some of them looked like mutants.

Scott was blasting left and right, trying to take people down. Jean was trying to defend herself and Keith, who looked like he'd taken a shot to the arm. Remy and Logan were in the midst of things, of course, taking out anyone that came close. Hank was trying to clear a path to Ororo, who was lying on the ground unmoving. A few of Eli's men were trying to get to her as well. Spencer looked at Jubilee, saw the determination and horror both on her face, and he made a rapid fire decision. "You stick close to me and stay low. When we get up there, do you think you can move Storm?"

"I can do it." She said firmly.

"Good." He checked his gun, made sure everything was ready, and he braced his body. "Remember, close and low."

They moved fast and stealthy, using the cars as shelter to get them most of the way there. It was the last few feet that stuck them out in the open. It was there they'd have to fight. Spencer peeked around the last car, saw she was just feet away, and he saw the two men that were finally close enough to reach her. He looked back at Jubilee and gestured with his head towards the men, making a sign with his hand he hoped she'd understand. Bless her, she did. When they rose, she sent a blast of her fireworks ahead of them. Spencer ducked down low underneath and fired two shots, taking one in the chest and the other in the shoulder. He fired again at the second one while Jubilee hurried forward and grabbed up Ororo off the ground. Under his cover fire, they retreated back to behind the car again.

He could see that Jubilee was having a harder time hauling her friend then she'd thought she would. Ororo looked unconscious and that always made a person harder to move. Well, okay then, no more moving from here. That was fine. They had the car for some form of shelter. He could defend them here just as easily as back there. Okay, maybe not as easily, but it could be done. He could do it. With quick fingers, he reloaded his gun. Then he braced himself and lifted, taking aim and firing. He quickly dropped down as fire was returned. In that break he took a look at Ororo. "Does she have any injuries? Is she bleeding anywhere?" he asked Jubilee.

Again he popped up, laying down more fire. He had to duck for a moment when there were shots in return and then he was back up, aiming the way Remy had taught and pulling the trigger. Another person dropped to the ground.

"She's bleeding on the back of her head." Jubilee told him, her voice just a little panicked.

Spencer mentally cursed and slid back down. "In the bag on my right hip, grab the black t-shirt and bunch it up. Use it to put pressure against that spot. Head wounds bleed a lot so it might not be bad, but I don't want to take chances." He slid the bag off for her and then lifted up again. Two more men went down under his gunfire.

One of the mutants jumped forward, coming around the edge of the car, and Spencer swung to fire but the man moved fast, faster than normal, and he knocked the gun away. Spencer only had time for a quick curse before he was sent flying against the other car. He grunted against the pain, but there was no time for it. The guy was moving to Jubilee and Ororo and Spencer reacted quickly. He used the car to shove off of and he flung himself on top the man. The force of his tackle sent them onto the back of the other car and rolling off the other side.

With this guy's superhuman speed, it took all of Spencer's skill just to keep from getting his ass kicked. The only thing that saved him, the only thing that gave him any advantage, was that the man fought with his powers alone. He counted too strongly on them and that was his weakness. Spencer not only used his empathy in a fight, letting it help him attempt to predict what the other person would do, he also used his profiling skills to read the body language and he used the skills that Remy had taught him. Combining those kept him moving and kept him alive. He took the blow that sent him back into the wall of the building. When the man lunged forward again, so sure of his actions, Spencer was ready for him. He'd used the blow as a cover to reach into his jacket. When the man rushed up to him, he met Spencer's hand and the knife inside it. It sank straight into his gut. He froze right in front of Spencer, eyes wide and mouth open, gaping at him. Spencer fought down the bile in his throat and the ache around his heart and gripped the hilt tighter before he _shoved_ , pushing it in deeper. He saw the change over the man's eyes, felt the life pass out of him, and he grieved inside even as he shoved the man away from him.

When he pulled his knife free, he abruptly became aware that the fight was over. They'd won. The others had come close, thinking that Spencer might need help, and they stood and stared now as he yanked his knife free from the guy's gut. Under their watchful stares, he wiped the blade clean on the guy's shirt in smooth movements despite the way his insides were clenching. Then he slid it back into its spot in his coat. He straightened up and sought out Remy. Only when he saw his partner alive and well did he turn his gaze to Hank. His voice was flat and cold; clinical, even. "Jubilee has Storm on the other side of the car. She's taken some blunt force trauma to the head and she's unconscious."

Keith couldn't seem to stop staring at the guy lying on the ground. Judging by the look on his face, this was his first serious battle, Spencer figured. The youth lifted wide, disbelieving eyes to Spencer. "You killed him."

The words struck Spencer like a fist in the gut. He pushed that feeling down, pushed away his momentary guilt, and he kept his face blank. "I did. He was trying to kill me."

"But…X-Men don't kill."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not an X-Man." That said, Spencer turned his back and walked over to where he'd dropped their bags. He tried to remind himself that Keith had no idea what he was talking about. He was young and he didn't understand what moments like these were all about. He hadn't yet learned that there were some people, some battles, that couldn't be won by playing fair. Somehow, none of it lessened the guilt eating away inside of Spencer for each life lost today.

Remy watched his partner walk away and he could see what others couldn't. He saw the ache in the man, the stiff way he held himself that spoke of not just physical pain but of his grief. Temper had the Cajun turning his glare on young Keith. "Y' watch how y' talk to him, child. Y' aint got any clue what y'r talkin' about."

"He killed people." Keith said, still sounding shocked. He was working his way towards anger, though. "How is that okay?"

"Actually, he wounded them." Jean interrupted. She was looking at the bodies on the ground nearby. She saw what Remy had already known. Spencer shot to wound first and foremost. He would incapacitate his enemies first. Only as a last resort would he kill them. Most of the men he shot could recover, if help arrived.

Logan shot Keith a hard glare. "Killing or injuring em, he did what was needed today. Fights aint all pretty and easy like the training sessions at home. They're dirty and messy and harsh. That kid's seen more battle than you'd understand. Not only did he do what he had to, he cares a hell of a lot more than you ever will."

"I care!" Keith defended himself instantly.

The scowl Logan gave him was enough to have the poor kid cowering back. "You care, but you don't care like he does. The kid's an empath, bub. Use your brain and think of what that means for a fight like this." His piece said, Logan turned and moved over to check on Ororo. Remy followed after him. Behind them, Keith just stared.


	4. Chapter 4

Gathering up and clearing out only took them a few short moments. It seemed like no time at all before the group made their way to their pickup location, where the jet was waiting for them, and then they were all loaded inside and flying out of there. Any other time and Spencer probably would've been gawking around him and trying to draw in everything. He would've been full of questions for Remy and chattering away about countless different things he saw. But none of that happened. In fact, he was the total opposite. He took the seat he was led to and he simply sat there quietly. Hands folded in his lap, he stared at the wall opposite him, not really seeing anything. The emotions from the battle were still burning inside of him. His own feelings over that loss of life, the memory of that final twist of emotions before the man died right there in front of him, those were still in the forefront of his mind.

Remy gave him his space when they settled in to their seats. He sat beside him and said nothing as the jet rose into the air and started its flight. But once they were up, once they were moving, Remy unhooked his belt and slid out of his seat. Then, to the surprise of those watching, he slid gracefully to the floor and nudged with his shoulder until he could slip between Spencer's knees. Once there, he laid his head on Spencer's thigh and just snuggled right in, facing outwards. Those nearby could see the soft look that stole over Remy's features. He looked almost like he was sleeping.

In reality, he was opening himself to Spencer. Not pushing emotions at him; just, offering his own up. Giving Spencer warmth in the cold the young genius still felt. Spencer closed his eyes as he let the warmth inside. Those nearby watched as a tear slid down the pale cheek.

Spencer threaded his fingers through Remy's hair and anchored himself as he'd done so many times in the warmth of his partner. It didn't chase all the negative feelings away immediately. It did, however, give him a steady ground to start to work through them and find himself underneath them all again. No matter how many times he went through this it never got any easier. It hadn't been easy at the Bureau when they'd been forced to take down an Unsub. Sometimes it was harder now, because the choice was always in his hands. He and Remy chose to go into these places and they had to make the choice on who ended up living or who ended up dying. That was a kind of power that Spencer had never wanted to have.

What scared him sometimes was the ease with which it happened in the moment. How easy it became while it was all happening to just put his sight on someone calculate in his head in an instant whether or not it was safe to allow them to live or not, and then to execute that decision and fire a shot he knew would take down their life. The crash always came harder after those moments.

Closing his eyes, Spencer leaned his head back on the seat and just let himself rest there, his hand cupping Remy's head, the emotions going back and forth between them until it pushed down the chaos inside and left him with a semblance of peace.

Remy stayed on the ground the whole time. He didn't move away from Spencer. He just stayed down there and let Spencer take from him what he needed to be okay again. In his own way, he found peace there as well, steadying his own emotions. Not necessiarly from what had happened, but more for what was to come.

The two wrapped themselves up in one another and prepared themselves for what lay ahead. Their life had been nonstop running for three years now. Always going, always fighting … and always alone. Now they were committing themselves to one place for an entire week. A place that held people who were Remy's friends and family. They were going to deal with seeing people who meant the world to Remy, figuring out how to protect them, and handling any repercussions that came from the truth getting out about what Remy had been doing since he left.

It wasn't going to be easy. Then again, nothing ever was.

Spencer pressed his hand a little tighter to Remy's head and promised himself that he would do what was needed to protect his partner once they arrived. If anyone thought that they were going to be able to hurt Remy, they had another thing coming.


End file.
